Of Fire and Fury (Book 1: Light-Born Series)

Chapter 42

Two shadows huddled together in the coming darkness, watching a troupe of five travellers encamped in the woods. Silently, they watched as the travellers lit a fire, spread their skins, and began to murmur sleepily to each other. Three men, two women. Where the watchers huddled beneath low hanging brush, expertly hiding themselves as they had done countless times before, they were completely shielded from sight. Yet, even without the trees, they wouldn’t have been spotted in the dim light. Their clothes were entirely black, covering them from head to toe. It was thick and woven, created to slow a knife, arrow, or any other attack, in sensitive areas such as their chest, back, and legs. Except a slit for their eyes and their exposed hands, they melded into the coming darkness as though they were a part of it. In truth, they were.

They watched, and waited, until they could discern who it was who had wandered into their one tiny sliver of world. They wondered who had business entering the old stone walls of the castle, and if they would be unlucky enough to be someone of value.

“You’ll love it.” one of the two tall men said. He was blonde, with strong features, but the softness only a life in Amarin could give you. He was speaking to a woman, who was small under her forest clan skins. Her dark hair was braided back from her face, revealing eyes that seemed to be full of fire. 

“I can’t wait.” she muttered back, clearly annoyed at the man before her. He didn’t seem to notice, and continued talking.

“Just you wait, Rabid. This will be nothing you’ve ever seen before.” the man said. He went on to describe Amarin, but the two men watching had stopped listening. At the name, the two men in the underbrush locked eyes. They had heard this name before. They had heard the stories. In fact, this was a stroke of luck for the men. This would save them a lot of hunting.

The first man nodded, raising a hand and making a symbol with his fingers. The second man agreed, reaching into the folds of the pack he carried and pulling out a thin, glass tube. He cracked it, the sound barely louder than the c***k of the camper’s flame; then, he tossed it into the trees before them. The men waited. 

As the herbs mingled with the air, they created a thin stream of smoke, clear to the untrained eye. It was only able to be seen because the men had seen it so many times before. They had been trained to pick out the smallest differences in more than just the air. For the travellers before them, they would suspect nothing more than a wisp of fire’s smoke, even if they could see it.

“Do you smell that?” the not-Rabid woman said, glancing around and inhaling deeply. Her black hair fell in waves around her, shifting over her shoulders as her head moved.

“It smells… like flowers.” The tall blonde man said. His face broke into a soft, contented smile and he closed his eyes. The group inhaled together. 

It was mere minutes before they each were sound asleep.

The two men in the forest stood, no longer needing to take precautions. Still, they moved quickly and silently, as they had been trained since they were children. The first man grabbed the small girl called Rabid, hoisting her over his shoulder as though she were a sack of roots. The other man met his eyes through the slit in their armor. Each raised their right hand, as they had so many times before, in the symbol of their order; their crimson hands flashed against the light of the fire. Then, they vanished into the night.

***

“What in the gods’ names happened, Kizi.” Karver kicked a tree, splintering its bark into a hundred different directions. Kizi stood with her face in her hands, her own mind running through the possibility of Rabid’s disappearance. She opened her eyes and looked at Karver, he was running his hands through his blonde hair as he paced, his hands shaking with frustration.

“Where did she go?!” he yelled, his voice shaking in fear and frustration. Roan flinched slightly at Karver threw an axe into the tree nearest his brother. 

“Why don’t we remember?” Roan asked, uneasily. Rydich stepped next to him and snatched the knife from Karver’s hand.

“Stop.” he said, his voice deep and authoritative. It was the first time he had spoken to him, and Karver shrank back slightly under the word.

“We were drugged.” Kizi said, frustration building in her. “I’ve heard of it before, but I didn’t realize it worked like this.”

“I remember smelling something.” Karver said, stepping away from Rydich’s large frame and glancing at Kizi. “What was it?

“I don’t know, I can’t… I can’t quite place it.” Kizi sighed and sat on the ground, exasperated and frustrated at herself. Tears pricked at her eyes. The men stood around her, unsure of what to do to help. Finally, Rydich stepped toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kizi looked up, meeting his pale grey eyes.

“We cannot stay here and wait.” he said, his voice surprisingly kind. A tear slid from Kizi’s eye, and he quickly wiped it away. The touch of his fingers against her cheek suddenly made her stomach flip.

“This is my fault.” she whispered, more tears than he could wipe away pouring from her eyes. His grey eyes just watched her as his hand cupped her cheek. He shook his head, clenching his jaw.

“No.” Karver was the one who answered. “It’s not. I brought you here.”

Rydich let go of Kizi and stood, glaring at Karver in silence. His very stature seemed to convey his anger, in every line of his perfectly toned muscles.

“It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is.” Roan snapped, looking between the two men.

“What are we going to do? She’s gone.” Kizi said quiety. 

Rydich broke his glare with Karver and looked once more at Kizi, his eyes softening.

“We will continue on to Amarinhom.” Karver said, confidently. Rydich looked at him, squinting slightly and he studied the Amarin. Kizi pushed herself up beside him.

“What? Just leave her out here? What if she comes back?” she said, glancing around as if Rabid was already on her way and would appear at any moment.

“I think we all know who took her.” Karver said, his voice dropping low and intense.

“We don’t know it was…” Kizi started, trailing off.

“We do.” Roan said quietly, giving Kizi a sideways look. Rydich met her eyes, as if checking that she was alright. His kindness toward her shocked her, she didn’t even know the man, and had never even heard him speak before today. She pulled her attention from him and looked at Karver.

“Why would they just take her? If it was the Hauks, none of us would be here.” Kizi said. “Our whole purpose was to protect Rabid. What do we do know that we’ve failed?”

The three men fidgeted and looked around at each other, unable to meet her heavy gaze. Karver spoke up again,

“There is nothing we can do here. We need to get back to friendly territory, drum up an army, and come up with a plan.” 

“What if she’s killed?” Roan said. Kizi looked at him with wide eyes. He shrugged and looked back. “We know it’s a possibility.”

“No.” Karver said, shaking his head. “I don’t think she will be. If she’s the prophecied one, she can hold her own.”

Kizi closed her eyes against the tears of guilt and anger that threatened to come out. She clenched her hands into fists, willing up strenght inside of her. When she opened her eyes, Rydich was watching her.

“We need to look for her, at least for a little while. We will stay here one more night. Then, if she doesn’t return, won’t have any other choice.” she said.

Karver stared at her for a long moment, then nodded.

“If you’re willing to waste that much time, so be it.” he said, sitting down with a huff.

“Someone should keep watch, in case this group is still around.” Roan said. 

Rydich nodded, and without a word disappeared into the trees.

“What a strange man.” Karver muttered, staring at his back. Then he shook his head and turned back to them. “Someone should stay here, and watch our belongings and in case she comes back.”

“You stay. I won’t be able to sit still.” Kizi said, wiping off her skins as she started off into the forest. 

“Head back toward the ruins, I’ll head deeper into the forest.” Roan said after her. She nodded without responding.

Kizi trudged through the trees. Her heart felt heavy, her legs leaden. Failure wound like a noose around her neck. It took all her strength to place each foot in front of the other. Rabid was the only thing she had abandoned her people for, the only good thing to happen to them in a long time. She couldn’t be the reason her friend, the savior of Minaloa, didn’t fulfill her destiny. Kizi bit back tears and shook the thoughts from her mind. She would search to the ends of the earth to find Rabid and right this wrong.